Punk icon John Lydon has accused BBC bosses of censoring him during his 1970s heyday when he tried to tell the world about rumours of child abuse by Sir Jimmy Savile. The former Sex Pistols star heard speculation shortly after shooting to fame that the popular DJ was a serial paedophile.
He mentioned the gossip in a radio interview but the quote was edited out of the original broadcast and it only became public following the exposure of Savile as a sex abuser after his death in 2011.
Now Lydon has blasted officials who were running the BBC during the mid-1970s and accused them of deliberately trying to silence him.
He tells U.K. publication The Times Magazine, "I was telling it like it is! On and off, the BBC found reasons not to play my records and, on and off, they found reasons not to listen to me at all."
Savile, a BBC Radio stalwart and popular TV presenter, was unmasked as a sex offender following his death at the age of 84, and a subsequent inquiry revealed he abused more than 400 victims dating back 54 years. The scandal has had far-reaching consequences in the U.K., with police launching investigations into several of Savile's former colleagues and other public figures who were big in the '70s.

Singer Kate Bush has shown off her doodling skills by designing the cover art for rock magazine Mojo's 20th birthday edition. The music bible celebrates the milestone next month (Nov13) and to celebrate, editors have solicited contributions from veteran stars including Brian Wilson, Jimmy Page, John Lydon, Steven Tyler, and Buddy Guy describing their memories of entering their third decade.
Wuthering Heights hitmaker Bush provided a white and grey sketch in a note of congratulations to the publication's bosses - and they have used the image for the cover of next month's edition.
The doodle features four balloons spelling out 'Mojo', with the handwritten message: "Glad to see you've still got your Mojo after 20 years. With love, Kate."

Punk icon John Lydon was unsurprised when legendary British TV presenter Sir Jimmy Savile was unmasked as a paedophile, because the rocker caused a storm by branding him "seedy" 35 years ago. BBC bosses were rocked last year (12) when long-running rumours about Savile's conduct while working at the corporation were made public following his death in 2011, and hundreds of victims have since come forward.
An official inquiry was launched, and in January (13), it was announced investigators had concluded Savile raped at least 30 children and abused 450 victims over a 54-year period.
However, news of Savile's disgrace came as no surprise to former Sex Pistols frontman Lydon as he had described the TV presenter's "seediness" in a BBC radio interview in 1978, but the comment was not broadcast.
He tells Mojo magazine, "That's how I am, I have my finger on the pulse. It caused trouble at the time."